Two men charged for armed robbery after helicopter tracking leads to arrest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Two Kansas City men have been charged after a series of armed robberies were committed from Rockhurst University to the Brookside area Wednesday night.

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday that 19-year-old Macario Hart and 21-year-old Rashaad Thomas each face first-degree robbery and armed criminal action charges.

Court records claim four men in a black vehicle pulled up next to a victim on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the area of 51st and Oak. The driver pointed a gun at the male victim and the men were in a vehicle that had been reported stolen earlier Wednesday night.

Later, Rockhurst University security reported the black vehicle in one of the school’s parking lots. Another vehicle, a maroon Kia, had been stolen. The vehicle went south and soon after, an armed robbery was reported in the parking lot behind the Brooksider.

Court documents said a maroon vehicle had multiple suspects inside. One pointed a gun and demanded the victim’s purses. Soon after, one victim told authorities she was alerted of a fraudulent transaction on her credit card from a nearby gas station.

Police obtained video from the gas station, which showed the suspects and vehicle.

KD officers eventually spotted the vehicle near 24th and Hardesty and with the help of a police helicopter, tracked the vehicle until the suspects fled on foot to the woods off Sni-A-Bar Road. There, Hart and Thomas were taken into custody.

Officer Darin Lutz and Officer Trey Lehman were credited by KD as the helicopter pilot and spotter who found the criminals.

The prosecutor’s office said cards belonging to one victim were found on one suspect and a search of the vehicles produced other items that belonged to victims. As a result, an investigation continues and other charges may be possible. KD said four suspects are in custody, but only Hart and Thomas has been charged thus far.

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